Confronting Segregation and Racism in the Women’s Rights Movement

The year 2020 will be significant in the United States. It’s an important election and census year. It will also be the centennial of the 19th amendment, which provided voting rights for white women. During the long fight for the 19th amendment, women organized, lobbied, protested, marched and even jailed. Many leaders emerged and organizations were formed in order to gain rights for women. However, the vote was not extended to Black women who fought for these rights then—and continue to do so now.

As many celebrate the upcoming centennial of the 19th amendment, we must remember that the fight for women’s rights have largely been segregated. White women’s groups were not welcoming to women of color and many white suffragists resisted efforts to grant African American women the right to vote.

The history of the League of Women Voters…

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